America will run a little slower ... 

Dunkin' Inc. recently announced a drastic extension of their plan to close hundreds of retail locations by the end of the year. In a second quarter reporting call, the parent company to Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins released the news. Earlier this summer, Dunkin' disclosed a plan to close 450 locations embedded in Speedway stations. An additional 350 Dunkin' stores will now be closed for good in 2020, in a corporate real estate rationalization initiative.

Decreased sales across the globe were cited as the main reason for the expansion in closures. Overall, Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. recorded a 20 percent decrease in profits when compared to the same quarter in 2019. Despite best efforts to maintain a strong presence in the marketplace, temporary store closings and decreased consumer sales amid COVID-19 lockdowns both contributed to the lagging sales.

"We are extremely proud of our great franchisees who kept the vast majority of our restaurants open during the quarter and really stepped up with a sense of urgency and grit to keep their team members employed, our guests served, and their communities running."

— Dave Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer of Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc.

Don't worry about your favorite coffee and doughnuts being too hard to find, though. The 800 Dunkin' locations to be closed represent just eight percent of the company's U.S. holdings. The parent company has over 21,000 distribution points, including Dunkin' stores, Baskin-Robbins storefronts, and multiple product lines available for purchase in grocery stores.

To date, Dunkin' hasn't published an official list of locations to be closed yet. For more information, see the media release of the second quarter report here.

**The photos in this article are courtesy of Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc.

What do you think of the impending closure of hundreds of Dunkin' stores? Are they one of your favorite breakfast stops? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!